Wednesday, September 29, 2010

This painting was another painting I created in my workshop class at Gallery on First. I wanted all the workshop artists to have the same viewpoint as I did so I set up the still life in advance and photographed the subject. I actually took quite a few photographs, moving items around and adding and subtracting items. This is the composition I choose to paint in the workshop. I wanted to show three-dimensional space by the overlapping of objects. The vegetables were chosen so that different values and hues were placed next to each other. The colors of the background, the salt & pepper shakers and the bowl were similar in color to lead you through the painting. (The bowl was carved by my brother in Vermont.) I like the way this painting turned out because of the lighting, the strong contrasts from the lighted areas and the dark background. Doesn't it look good enough to eat?

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Clear Creek Valley is one of the most pristine and secluded natural areas in Central Ohio. My dad volunteered here during his later days. He enjoyed the park and found hiking the path and watching the wildlife quite enjoyable. When I would visit him in Ohio we would usually take a trip there with my uncle and walk through the park. There is now a tree and a bench in the park which were placed there after he passed away in remembrance of his efforts to make the park a better place for all of us to enjoy. I travelled with my camera during one such trip in December. The trees were bare and the atmosphere was cold and wet. Typical of Ohio if you ever lived there in the winter. This painting is one of my favorites because it shows the mood and atmosphere that is Ohio on a cold winter day.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Sometimes it might take me quite a while to produce a particular painting from my reference material. I kept trying to think of how to paint this ship I photographed while in Boston a year ago. I didn't particularly like my photo of the ship. I took the photo when it was raining and thought it wasn't a nice enough day to make a painting of it. Then I had another photo of the cityscape and I didn't paint it because it was too far away and uninteresting. Then there were photos of sailboats in the harbor that the composition wasn't quite right. So what do you do with three photos that just don't look quite right. Put them together into one painting. This is the end result, a painting of boats in the Boston Harbor on a rainy day.